


The Missing Case of Lance McClain

by Smiles4Voltron



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Kidnapped Lance, Kindapping, M/M, Mystery, Past Relationships, clue finding, guilty boyfriend, interrogations, raging keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2018-12-07 18:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11629179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smiles4Voltron/pseuds/Smiles4Voltron
Summary: Lance was gone, and Keith had no one to blame but himself.He promised Lance he would be there and he wasn't, now he has to be the one to find him.The police have no leads,There are hardly any clues...They only friends he can rely on are Allura, Lance's best friends, his brother, and a man with a mustache?He can only hope Lance can hold on till he gets there---Or- Lance goes missing, and it's up to his Boyfriend Keith to find him.





	1. No show

**Author's Note:**

> Angst story   
> Angst angst 
> 
> I love mystery so I hope I can write this story well :3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith can't show up to his date with Lance, again.  
> He wishes he had....

When Keith stepped out of the meeting room, he quickly ducked to the right to take his hair down. Letting it flutter over his shoulders, he sighed.

Hunk watched with a sad expression, putting on a smile to comfort his friend, “I hope it is going well at least.”

“I think it is,” Keith glanced at him, “Or it's going horrible, and I'm just delusional.”

Hunk chuckled then trailed off, eyeing the clock, “Keith, shouldn’t you be heading home?” He inquired from the back, cleaning out the glasses with a dish towel.

Strolling over to the island table, Keith casually leaned against it and shook his head, “I can’t,” he tells the lovable bartender, “This meeting is drawing out. We are just on a break.” Not that he enjoyed sharing their meeting at a bar in the first place; it was different simply because it was Hunk’s place. He kept it clean, very classy.

“I don’t know how you can keep up with those guys,” Hunk shakes his head, “I don’t understand half of what they are saying.”

“It’s not easy.” Keith shrugs, grateful when Hunk slides over a small drink to him. Knowing his friend would keep the glass light, especially for tonight, he chugged it down without much thought. Exhaling at the slight burning sensation of the alcohol, he handed the glass back to him.

“How long do you boys have left?”

Keith shrugs, “Not sure.”

“Lance must be waiting for you,” Hunk shifts his gaze a little, like he wants to say something else but is holding back. Keith curses, glancing at the time. That’s right; he told Lance he would be home 30 minutes ago.

Saluting Hunk, he steps away to pull out his phone. Quickly dialing his boyfriend's number he barely waited a second before there was an answer.

“Keith?”

“Hey, Babe,” he moves to a quiet area, plugging his other ear to hear Lance better.

“You still at Hunk’s?” Lance asked.

“The meeting-” Keith was cursing himself, “I’m so sorry Lance. I’m late. I know we agreed to have dinner tonight, but the meeting isn’t even close to getting done. I might not be home until late.” he kicks his shin, despising his inability to simply make time for the love of his life.

There is a small sigh from the other end, “This is the 5th time.”

Keith’s heart aches, “I know,” He wanted to say he would make it up to Lance, and they could share dinner a different night, but he had said that four times already. “Lance, honey I-”

There is a small chuckle, “It’s okay, Keith.”

“What?” he could hardly believe his ears

“We’ll just plan for another night. I know you’ve been busy and I know this is important to you.”

In fact, it had been Keith’s dream for years. Shiro and him were finally going to open their own business, taking on the world together just like they had planned as children. Of course, Lance and Allura were apart of this scheme now, which Keith was thrilled about, but the planning and getting it all up, assuring that nothing went wrong, was drawing out.

He had to cancel every date for the last two months with Lance. The only time he seemed to see him anymore was early in the morning just before he headed out or late at night when Lance had already gone to bed for his own day at work.

They had been dating for over two years now, having met at college. Having crushed on Lance since their freshman year, he still couldn't believe someone as amazing as him loved a hot head like himself.

“I promised I’d be there,” Keith sighs heavily. He new Allura and Shiro had been having similar problems with their relationship, but he still managed to make time for her and didn't cancel five dates in a row….  
Keith needed to ask him his secret.

“And you’ll just be back a little later than planned,” there is a soft undertone to Lance’s voice. It’s hard for Keith to tell if Lance really means it or is just putting up a brave front. “I’ll see you more when your business finally gets going and you don’t have to suck up to all these men in suits.” Lance assures him.

Touched, feeling as though he just fell in love with Lance a bit more with how understanding he was, he smiles, _“I love you._ ”

Lance giggles, “I love you too. So go knock the socks off those businessmen. I’ll see you when I see you,”

No tomorrow, no tonight, just at some point- because they both knew Keith’s promises meant very little at this moment. That fact hurt, but Keith swallows it down.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Again, I’m so sorry, Lance. I hope you weren’t planning anything big or had to cancel anything because of this.”

“I actually made dinner, so no it wasn’t anything big. Just an evening at home is what I thought we could do. It just leaves more spaghetti for me.”

Keith mentally groans in distress. He loved Lance’s homemade spaghetti- how was he possibly missing this??

“That sounds amazing right now.”

Lance purposively takes a bite, drawing out a delighted humming noise, “You are missing out. My cooking skills know no bounds in the world of spaghetti~”

“I am.” he agrees. "I hope you save some for me later." There is a pause that turned into a moment too long, “Lance?”

There was no reply at first.

“Lance, baby? You still there?”

“I uh- Yeah.”

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. Just thought I heard something. I think the cats are getting into something again.” he tells him, sounding distant. “You do what you have to do, sweetheart. I love you.”

Keith can already see the men beginning to enter the room. In any other case, he would have stayed to ask what was on Lance’s mind, but he could see Shiro waving for him to come back. He thought that if he could finish this meeting soon, he could surprise Lance and be home within the next hour or so. “Yeah, I gotta go. You sure you are okay? You aren’t mad?”

“It wasn’t a big deal, Keith. Just some dinner. I’ll put the leftovers in the fridge and we can try to have lunch together or something,” Lance assures him with a bubbly voice. Keith, like a fool, believed him.

With a kissing sound, he said goodbye and hung up.

He should have kept talking to him.

He should have gone home to be with him.

He should have thought it was strange how Lance was quiet for so long.

* * *

“It wasn’t a big deal, Keith. Just some dinner. I’ll put the leftovers in the fridge and we can try to have lunch together or something,” Lance assures him.

There is a pause on the other end of the line before Keith mumbles a goodbye to him and makes a kiss noise. Not much of a goodbye, but Lance couldn't really complain at this point.

Listening to the to silence of his phone, Lance slowly lowered his palm back to his lap. Sinking into his chair, he sighs, looking over the set up he had spent hours making.

Candle lit dinner surrounded by roses and quiet music.

He had handmade the dinner, gotten Keith’s favorite wine- hell, he even dressed up all nice to surprise Keith when he got home.

He lied when he said it wasn’t a big deal to him. Reaching into a pocket, Lance pulled out a small box. Popping it open he stared at the ring inside.

They say third time's the charm, but they just bombed their fifth attempt. Was the universe just against him getting Keith to himself long enough to propose? Was it so hard?

He had even gotten Hunk involved in this, asking for him to help pick out the ring with him 2 months ago. Since coming into possession of it, there had been nothing but problems in them meeting up.

Keith was just too busy. When Lance did manage to see him, he was so tired- he couldn't bare to take more of Keith's sleep away.

Lance knew this is what Keith wanted, and he did his best to be supportive and understanding. The first month was easy and the second one got a little tricky. They were rounding month three here soon, and Lance was feeling a little… neglected?

He shouldn’t be.

Keith still loved him.

He just had to be patient.

Sighing, knowing he should get all of this cleaned up, he blew out the candles. He didn’t want Keith to come home to see all of this and feel guilty- especially after telling him it was all right.

Quickly brushing the petals into a little pile to sweep up later, he went to grab the broom. Navigating their quiet home, located out in the suburbs of the city, Lance purposively clicked on some depressing music to listen to.

Of course, the first thing to come on was Celine Dion’s All by myself.

He dramatically sang along to the tune, hoping that accepting his loneliness would make some of the pain go away. It wasn’t really working.

Turning the music off, Lance paused at the sound of creaking down the hall. Recalling that same noise from earlier during his call with Keith, he turned on the hallway light and peered down it. Thinking it was their cats, he clicked his teeth to get them to come forward.

“Blue, Red,” he says, “Come give me some sugar in my time of need,” he whines at them. Not the most elaborate names, but Lance thought it fit them. Rounding the corner, he peered into his living room to find nothing. He stepped in to squint under the couch and around them, knowing their cats liked to lollygag around the premises. “Blue? Red?” he inquired. Locating Blue below the chair in the corner of the room, he smiled at her. “Hey beautiful,” he was shocked when she hissed at him. “That isn’t nice,” he scolded, “What did I do?”

A moment later she shot out, scrambling past his knees. Feeling a chill creep up his spine he turns to follow her. She ran past the window, which had been lifted, opened to the world outside. Not recalling leaving the window open, he closed and relocked it.

Officially freaked, always hating being home alone, he quickly scurried back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. He had just managed to grab the plates when the creaking noise returned.

When he turned, he screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun.... let's see how this turns out, shall we?


	2. He's gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith receives a call from the police.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this sure took a while to get out, didn't it?

Keith could hardly breathe when he stumbled outside. It was close to midnight, the meeting drawn to a close when he received a phone call from 911.

Stepping out to take it, not sure what this could be about, he was surprised to realize it was Matt. A friend from college, he had taken work at the police station near Lance and his house. His old friend was quiet, explaining to Keith the best he could with what information he currently had. Keith’s whole world shattered at the mention of his house.

He didn’t listen to much after that before he hung up to get his things.

Scrambling back into the room to grab the keys to his car, Shiro's steady hand clasped his shoulder and stopped him. With a gentle tone, he asked to know what was going on. 

Keith didn't have a clue- just knew he needed to get home, _now._

Shiro didn’t need anything else before he was nodding, dismissing the men and apologizing, stating that a family emergency had come up.

"I'll drive."

"I can-"

Shiro gave him a look, "I'll. Drive."

Not in the right state of mind to drive, he nodded his head slowly, allowing the older man to take the wheel. Together they sped through traffic lights and down the highway as fast as Shiro dare go. A few minutes later, the horrible blue and red lights welcomed them, crashing down the full weight of the situation.

"No way..." Shiro mumbled. Parking a little way down the street, Keith could already see what appeared to be yellow police tape surrounding his house.

No…

He shook his head, refusing to believe this was happening.

"Keith, wait-!" Shiro struggled to tug off his seatbelt, barely able to call out before Keith was throwing himself from the car and sprinting down the sidewalk. 

He pushed his way through his neighbors, ducking below the tape and screaming at the first cop who tried to stop him.

Quickly realizing that Keith seemed to live in the building, he motioned for a few other police officers to step forward, telling him that letting him inside might tamper with vital evidence to the crime.

Keith’s blood went cold at the mention of crime _._

“What are you talking about? What happened?!” he screamed at their faces, “Where is Lance?!”

“Keith!” Matt stepped out of the house, running up to meet him.

“Matt.” Keith reached for him, gripping his sleeves, “Where is he?? Where is he?!”

“Keith, calm down- you are only making the situation worse,” Matt attempts to say

“Make what situation worse?!”

“Matt!” Shiro was quick to duck under the tape when he had a chance, running over to the two. Matt gives him a confused look to why he was there, but doesn’t dawdle on it. “What’s going on? What happened??” he scanned the house, pale and wanting answers.

“We got a call from a neighbor, Keith. Something about screaming and crashing, and by the time we arrived, the place was trashed. The entire bottom floor is a mess and we haven’t been able to find Lance. We aren’t even sure if he was home-”

“He was!” Keith roars at his face, “He was at home! He was… he waiting for me,” Keith’s voice drops, tight with pain.

Matt’s eyes soften, and he nods, “No one is in the house anymore. One of the neighbors mentioned seeing a vehicle leave the premises and we are still talking to them, but that is all the information we have at the moment. An investigation is underway and the police are looking into it. You can come inside, but until the police have what they need, please don’t touch anything,”

Keith nodded vigorously, just wanting to get inside and look.

With Matt's hand on his arm to lead him inside, he took his porch steps with shaky knees. To his horror, his house was trashed. He couldn’t even see the upstairs, but that didn’t matter- he got a good idea just from the first floor.

Pictures had fallen or had been tossed from the wall. This covered the hallway in glass, leading all the way towards the kitchen, where the table had been flipped. The contents that had been previously ontop of it were scattered across the way- candles, food, flower petals?

Keith wasn’t even sure what to make of the scene. A break in of some sort was evident, but Lance wasn’t inside?

"Geez...." Shiro ran a hand down his face, shaking his head in disbelief. It had felt surreal, having been here a week before, when everything was in perfect order. Lance prided himself on keeping their house in its top condition... 

“Wha…” Keith swallows thickly, “What happened...?” he took a few steps in, but couldn't bare anything more than that. Their house had been attacked, and he didn't have a single chance to stop it. No, that wasn't true, was it? He could have stopped it had he been here hours ago when he promised he would be. 

A few men were taking pictures towards the other side of the room, laying down certain numbers as if they considered the things near them to be clues- vital evidence to this strange case.

“I hope you don’t mind Shiro, but I called Allura over,” Matt tells him softly. Shiro turns abruptly, his eyes flashing with anger.

“Why?” he didn’t want her to have to see all of this. Matt signals for another police officer to come forward. To their surprise and relief, Keith's cat Red following at the officer's feet.

“Red,” Keith leans down to his cat, who meowed at him, pressing up lovingly to his leg. With a little scratch to her head, he noticed a slight limp in her leg, "What happened to you, girl?" She meowed and looked up. Keith lifted his gaze to the other officer, who held a blanket in his arms. 

Matt sighs sadly, “I knew she was a vet and, well…” the bundle was placed into Keith’s arms, and he inhaled sharply

“Blue..."

“Whatever happened, she got caught up in it. If there was an intruder she might have attacked them and got hurt in the process,” Matt says, not sure what else to say. 

Keith cradled her close, lifting the planet to reveal the pool of blood along her side. She had been hit, and from the looks of it, her side had been punctured with some glass. He didn’t need any proof to know that if Lance were in danger, she would have leaped forward to attack.

“We found her in the living room. Red was there watching over her- almost wouldn’t let us near her till I showed up,”

Keith nodded numbly, petting the top of Lance's cat delicately. “You did good, Blue. You too Red,” he tells them, “But… What about Lance?”

“Like I said Keith, he isn’t here.”

“But he was,” he insists.

Matt nods, “I think he was too, but he isn’t anymore. Whatever happened…” he trails off, knowing better than to just make assumptions, but they were all thinking it. It wasn’t easy to state a kidnapping, but that seemed to be the only believable option here.

“Who did this?” Keith choked.

“We are still figuring that out. Was Lance acting strangely at all today?” Matt lifts out a notepad and a pen, ready to get a statement from him and ask some common questions all people were asked during these situations.

Keith’s tongue felt thick, “I was supposed to be here for dinner, but I canceled."

"Why is that?" Matt asked

Keith inhales, "I had a meeting. W-With Shiro," Shiro nods next to him.

"For the company," he adds

Matt nods knowingly, jotting that down, "Did Lance have anyone over? Was he completely alone when you last contacted him?"

Keith nodded, but realized a moment later he couldn't fully confirm that, "I-I think he was? It sounded like it was just him. He was waiting for me to come home for dinner. He said… He was alright.” he thought he might cry, his voice cracking, “H-He was-”

“Maybe,” Shiro quickly interjects, “We should hold off on questions for a bit?”

Matt goes pale, realizing his mistake, “Yeah. Yes of course.” he apologizes, then steps back. “Go get some air, Keith. We still need to talk to you but take your time, okay?”

Keith can’t even nod before Shiro is trying to steer him back out the house. His feet wouldn’t move, eyes locked with his dining room. He had been here just this morning when everything was fine.

He hated himself.

He _hated_ himself.

He knew that it obviously wasn’t okay that he had missed a date with Lance again, but he didn’t do anything about it. Lance told him that it hadn’t been a big deal, but even in this chaos, he could see the work Lance had put into the setup before it was destroyed.

Stumbling forward, his legs moving on his own, he approached the table, staring down at it in dismay. Shiro and Matt let him go, knowing it was fine so long as he didn’t get in the way of the investigation.

Still holding Blue close to his chest, Red following obediently at his heels, he bent down, lowering his head just to breathe. It was so hard to suddenly.

This had to be a dream. Some horrible nightmare.

Why didn’t he come home? Why didn’t he keep talking to Lance? Why- god, he could ask all these questions but nothing would change what happened!!

With a watery exhale, his shoulders shuddered. Just think it through... Who would do this? Who would break into their home just to grab Lance? They had no enemies from what he could think of. Keith had pissed some people off, but nothing bad enough for them to resort to this. And Lance was the nicest guy he had ever met. No one would want to hurt him. So if it was just to steal belongings, why would they take him? Did they even take anything else? Did they come in here to steal something or was it all just to take Lance? Was he even taken?? Had he just run off to get away? 

Had...

The thought swirled in his mind. He didn't want to think about it, but what if Lance had done this all himself? What if he had gotten so mad at Keith he destroyed everything in his rage? He might have left afterward to cool or just... just left him. 

NO.

No, Lance wasn't like that, and he refused even to think that was an option. 

Cradling their beloved cat in his arms, he glanced at Red, who blinked at him. "Do you know who did this?" he whispered weakly. Red meowed, her tail batting back and forth. She moved, her paws patting over flower petals before swiping over a plate. It caught his attention, and he looked down. 

There was something there.

It was black and square. A box?

It peeked out from below the destruction. Not recognizing it, he reached out, lifting a broken plate to reveal it fully. 

His stomach sank. 

"Please, no...."

The box felt heavy between his fingers as he brought it up to his face. He knew what it was before he popped it open with his thumb.

"God...." His vision blurred as his voice choked out. Shiro was rushing to him when his entire body swayed catching him before he fell over. 

A ring. 

Lance was going to propose to him tonight. And he missed it. 

Now, Lance was gone. 


	3. We'll find him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's time at the police station feels very wasteful.  
> He only hopes Lance is okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so painful to write but I also love writing it!

Keith’s mind was lost in his own little world when Shiro attempted to hand him some water at the police station. He looked ahead with dull eyes, a small black box handed back and forth between his palms.

Dawn had broken over the horizon 30 minutes ago, and still, there had been no word about Lance. The police had assumed that the vehicle that might belong to the perpetrator was the white Van that had been seen shooting out of the neighborhood a little after the first call to the police had been made. When they questioned the neighbor that gave the intel, they explained that it had no license plate, and a banged up back bumper.

Virtually nothing to go off of when a license plate could easily be added to the back. No leads, no reason.

Lance was a friendly person who never made enemies like people who would want him dead or hurt. The police had questioned Keith that perhaps it was something to do with him. Maybe someone wanted to get back at him and is using Lance as a means of doing that.

While it could be possible, he still couldn’t recall angering anyone that far, and even if he had, involving Lance was something he could never forgive. Anyone who knew him definitely knew not to mess with the people he was close with.

Ever.

Yet here he was, sitting alone, Lance gone.

Could he say that enough for it to settle in his mind that his love was truly missing?

Keith could recall about a year back when he suffered from constant nightmares. He remembered Lance shaking his shoulders to wake him up.

“ _Sweetheart…” he says, “Babe, wake up,”_

_Keith sat up with a start, gasping for air as sweat poured from his forehead. Pulled back against Lance’s chest, Keith lifted his arm to wrap around his waist, pulling him back._

_Falling back to rest against the pillows of their shared bed, Lance gently ran a hand through his lover’s hair, humming quietly to calm him, “Another nightmare?” he inquires._

_Keith nodded into his collarbone, “Same one,”_

_Lance sighs, leaning down a little to kiss the top of Keith’s head, “I’m fine. I’m here,”_

_“I know,” Keith whispers, “I just- I dream you aren’t.”_

For months he woke up screaming, tears streaming down his face and deliriously calling Lance’s name.

When Lance calmed him down enough, Keith explained that he had dreamed that Lance had died, and Keith had been unable to save him.

Lance could only console him the best he could, assuring Keith that he wasn’t going anywhere.

He could still feel Lance’s fingers on his shoulder when he would roll him over and pepper his face with kisses. His sweet voice whispering “I love you”, into his ear.

Lance made sure to show Keith with every chance how much he loved him. And what did Keith do?

Neglect him for months, make excuses and leave him alone to have who knows what happen to him.

“Keith.” Shiro’s voice cut between his thoughts. “Don’t do this to yourself.” As if sensing Keith’s inner turmoil, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “This isn’t your fault.”

“I should have been there…” he physically recoiled to his own statement, the words backhanding him to know he wasn’t. He wasn’t there for Lance. “I could have stopped it.” 

“You don’t know that.” Shiro shakes his head. “For all we know, you both could be gone if you were there. Or worse- someone might have gotten hurt.”

That is assuming Lance wasn’t hurt right now, dying on the ground alone with the knowledge that the last thing he heard from Keith was some hasty goodbye.

“Has Matt said anything?” Keith changed the topic. Shiro shook his head no.

“No leads. I’m sure they’ll be back in here in a moment to question us. Probably ask us where Lance liked to hang out, who he’s been seen with lately. Ask where we were tonight.”

“Why would it matter where we were?” Keith scowls, feeling like that kind of questioning was pointless. In fact, being forced to sit in this Police station was pointless! “I should be out there looking for Lance, not waiting in here.”

“It’s protocol, Keith.” Shiro insists. “You’ve seen those old cop shows. They always pin the lover as the first possible suspect in this kind of thing,” he said it in a way that tried to sound calm, so not to anger his friend, but it set him off anyway.

“You’re saying they suspect me in what happened?! I would never hurt Lance!!”

“I know that Keith.” he insists. “I’m saying that they are just considering every possibility. We just tell them the truth and let them handle the rest.”

“So just sit here,” Keith concludes sourly. “The more time we just waste the more something could be happening to Lance!”

“Keith.” Shiro’s voice is soft and tired, the bags under his eyes just as heavy as Keith’s. “Lance is my friend, too. A brother to me…”

Keith’s eyes soften, and he looks down, “I know. I just want him to be okay.” he opens his palm to look at the box. He popped it open, the glistening ring inside making his heart ache. He took it from its container, Shiro observing his every move.

Keith wanted to put on the ring. To wear it with pride and show the world that he loved and cherished Lance.

He couldn’t bring himself to slip it onto his finger. Lance hadn’t properly asked him yet. So for now, all he could do was appreciate the craft of the ring. Now that he recalled and was thinking about it, Lance had asked for his ring size three months ago.

Lance wasn’t subtle about it, so it should have been his biggest hint.

“It’s a beautiful ring.” Shiro says as Keith places it back in the box.

“It is.” he agrees, nodding his head. Closing the box, he brought it to his lips and kissed it.

A little while later when Matt came in, Keith jumped to his feet, stuffing the box back into his pocket. “Well…?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

Matt sighs, shaking his head. “There isn’t much I can say yet, Keith.”

“That’s what you said hours ago.” he frowns.

“I know. We have everyone we can get on this case. We’re looking through traffic cameras, talking to witnesses- for now, we’re gonna need to ask you some questions.” he extended his hand to the chair, hoping Keith would cooperate.

Sighing, he sat down and nodded. He figured this is what Shiro had mentioned before.

“So, I know you had that business meeting tonight. Can those gentlemen confirm you were there?” Matt pulled out a pen and writing pad. Clicking the pen open he met Keith’s gaze.

He nodded in return. “Yes, they can confirm.”

“Okay.” Matt scribbled that down. “Can I ask where Lance likes to visit. His normal routine?”

Keith knew it by heart, reciting where Lance worked and the places he liked to go with friends.

“And recently?” Matt inquired.

Keith sighs, shaking his head. “I-I don’t know. We hadn’t seen each other much the last few months. I’ve been busy.” he lowered his head.

“I see.” Matt nods. He couldn’t say much given his position, but he knew how Keith must feel right now. “Listen, Keith. I don’t know if I’m going to be allowed on this case with how close I am with you two. Even if that is the case though, I’m going to do everything I can to help you find Lance. I promise.”

“Thanks, Matt.” Keith nods his head.

The rest of their conversation was basic questioning, wondering if Lance had been acting weird, or maybe had started hanging out with people he had never seen before. Matt danced around the topic of Lance seeing anyone without Keith realizing, and Keith quickly scolded him that Lance would never cheat.

It was just something Matt felt he should ask to be sure.

“Okay, that’s all I can think of for now.” Matt rises to his feet. “You look like hell, Keith. How about you go get some sleep?”

“I’ll get some sleep when we find Lance.”

Matt sighs. “Lance wouldn’t want you to kill yourself over him, Keith. He’d want you to get proper sleep and eat.”

“I know,” Keith grumbled, looking down. He would feel better if he could go looking for Lance. Not just be told that nothing has changed. If he could do that then maybe he could feel a little at ease that at least he was doing everything he could to find his Love.

“Shiro, you mind taking him home? We’ll call you in a few hours with an update. Starting tomorrow, we’ll start bringing people in to question them. We’ll see what they know.”

He nods his head, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Come on, Buddy. Let’s get you some sleep.”

Keith felt too tired to argue. Tugged to his feet, he followed Shiro to his car.

They didn’t say a word to each other the entire way back to Shiro’s apartment. Keith couldn’t be home right now. Not with the police swarming it and everything he built together with Lance trashed on the floor.

Crashing on Shiro’s couch, Keith snuggles up to the blanket he was offered. It took several hours before he eventually passed out, his dreams of soft brown hair and ocean eyes.

He didn't care what anyone said. 

Starting tomorrow, he was going to go look for Lance himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some interrogating Keith time!


	4. The investigation begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is on the case!
> 
> Hey guys! Okay so, I'm planning to make this story a little more intense as the chapters go. So while it's still teen-friendly at this point, it will start to get more explicit as the chapters go. 
> 
> I just wanted to give you that warning! I'll repeat this message at the bottom of the chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait! SO many stories and so little time ;-;

Allura’s hands curled through the soft fur of Blue’s head, soothingly the drugged out cat that lay on her side across Allura’s examination table. Her lower stomach had been patched and damaged, luckily nothing life-threatening.

A tattered and worn down Keith wobbled on the other side of the table, rubbing Blue’s back.

His voice was barely above a whisper, “So she’ll be okay?”

“Yes, thankfully.” Allura nods, her heart feeling heavy at the sight of her dear friend. She had known Keith for years, and Lance almost just as long. When she heard the news from Shiro she could hardly believe it.

She moved around the table, taking Keith’s hand before she hugged him. He fell against her, the weight of everything heavy on his own shoulders. 

“We’ll find him.” Allura patted his head, mumbling into his shoulder. “We have to find him.”

Keith swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yeah.” Stepping back he looks back at Blue. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Of course.” Allura smiles, gently lifting Blue to place her in a large kennel, letting her rest. “We’ll keep her over one more night to make sure she is okay. How is Red?”

“She had to get used to the new place since the cops are still at mine. She has been antsy without Blue….” He rubbed his eyes, exhausted. Too many dreams of Lance tortured his mind. He had passed out from pure exhaustion alone.

“Where were you?” he eventually mumbled

He was still surprised he hadn’t seen Allura at Shiro’s. They did live together after all. “You didn’t come home last night. Busy night?”

“Oh? Didn’t Shiro tell you-?” Allura trails off, messing with a pen at her desk. She frowned, then shakes her head, “Never mind. It was a long night and I was the only one on call here. I could say the same about you though.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Keith tells her. He turned, knowing things were done there. “Give me a call when it’s okay for me to take Blue home.”

“Where are you going?” she followed, walking him to the door. 

“Out.” he adjusted his coat. 

She frowned, “Keith, are you sure? The police are doing all they can to find Lance. And it might not be safe out there for you right now since we still don’t know what is going on.”

“Lance is out there, Allura.” he narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to just fucking sit around and wait for them to _maybe_ find him.” He stormed out the door to grab his helmet, tossing it over his head. He had already wasted enough time as it was with all those questions back at the station. 

He wasn't going to waste anymore. 

Allura stood at the door, looking small and scared. She knew she couldn't stop him.  “Please…. Just be careful.” she pleaded

His shoulders reluctantly relaxed, looking back at her. “Yeah,” he says quietly. Tossing his leg over his motorcycle, he started the engine. Lance always worried he would get into a wreck with this thing, so it usually stayed parked in their garage. At this point he needed speed, so the caution Lance worried about was tossed out the window. 

Pulling out of the parking spot he gave Allura one last now goodbye before he sped down the street. His first stop was Lance’s job.

Cut It Perfect, is what it was called. 

He was a hair stylist and a very popular one. Customers requested him to cut their hair by the dozens! He always seemed to give the customer exactly what they wanted, even if they weren’t sure themselves to what that was.

Pulling over along the sides of the freshly painted building he left his helmet on the seat and walked in. It smelled like shampoo and aftershave. 

The walls were lined with mirrors and hair products. Keith wandered around the first display, taking a moment to lift one of the bottles. He recognized it, opening it up to take a small whiff. 

It was Lance's favorite. It made his hair smell like strawberries, which Keith loved. He wondered sometimes if Lance used it just because he knew how much he liked it. It was a sweet gesture. 

Sighing, only feeling heartache instead of nostalgia, he put the bottle down. He moved to the counter where a familiar blonde sat.

“Hey, Romelle.” he greeted.

Looking up from her schedule. looking wary, she leaped to her feet, eyes wide. “Keith! Oh… Oh, Keith.” she frowned deeply. Having heard the news she lowered her gaze, “I… I heard about what happened. About Lance.” she choked up. “I’m so sorry.”

Keith nods, looking away. “That is actually why I am here, Romelle. I wanted to ask some questions about Lance.”

Romelle looked around, motioning to the side for them to talk there. “The police were just here asking about him as well.” she admits, “I told them everything I know. Nothing had changed with Lance. No new customers, nothing out of the ordinary I think. It was the same as always.”

“Did he seem any different to you?”

“Well… he was missing you,” she tells him. “Told us he hadn’t gotten to see you often.”

Keith feels a sting and nods, “Y-Yeah…” he cleared his throat, “Do you know if he had been going anywhere he usually doesn’t?”

Romelle shakes her head no. “No clue. I’m sorry I can’t be of much help. Shay might know something more but she isn’t here now. Off with Hunk somewhere. They talked more often and went out to have lunch a lot.”

“You sure you don’t have anything?” Keith pleaded. “Even the slightest thing that seemed odd. Something Lance would worry about or-or a person that hung around a little too much?” He needed a suspect here….

“I-I’m not sure… Lance had a lot of admirers I suppose, but he was always kind to them and none of them really rubbed any of us the wrong way. They were all…” she paused, “Wait.. wait no, there was one.” she suddenly remembered.

“There was??” Keith pushed for more details.

“Yes. A tall skinny man. I don't work right beside Lance a lot, but there were a few times Lance wasn't happy with some customers. He is usually always happy to see them except for that one. Lance seemed a little uncomfortable around him...”

Keith raised his eyebrow, “Did you catch their name?”

Romelle frowned, struggling to remember. It didn’t seem too important at the time, but the more she thought about it the more she remembered how bizarre it was. 

“An L name…. Larry? No.. Lottery? ” she moved to her desk, looking through the schedule to confirm it. “At this point, he isn’t a new customer. Lance always seemed a little uneasy when he came in. He seemed nice enough, but Lance never went into details on how he knew him.” she ran her fingers over a few names, stopping at one. “Found it. Does the name Lotor ring any bells?”

Keith's entire body tensed, “Lotor??” he repeated. The hair stood on the back of his neck at that creeps name. The mother fucker!!

 “How long? How long has he been coming here?” Keith demanded. Romelle flinched, looking at the book. 

“F-For a while? A few months at best. He always requests Lance to cut his hair.”

Keith turned his head, gritting his teeth. That little...

Romelle seemed to shrink, feeling like steam would start pouring from Keith's ears, “Do you know him?”

“Yeah, I know him,” he growled. He couldn’t believe Lance didn’t tell him about this? “He’s a no good creep!”

Their past hadn’t exactly been happy. Before Lance got together with him, Lotor and Lance had dated. Lotor had been a downright ass, mistreating Lance at any chance he could! They had argued a lot, and many times Lotor won the argument by making Lance feel bad, manipulating his feelings to keep him under his thumb. He had lied to Lance on multiple occasions, belittled him, and ended up dumping him after a while over a stupid text message!

Keith once got into a fist fight with the guy when Keith thought he wasn’t treating Lance right. Which in the end he was right about.

A past boyfriend was definitely something Lance should have told him about. And it wasn’t just a one time run in either, he had been interacting with Lance for a while! Well… only during hair appointments as far as Keith knew.

What if their interactions went past that though? Why hadn’t Lance told him about this?

Feeling both insecure and pissed off Keith tore towards the door. He couldn’t exactly call Lotor a suspect at this point, but it was the only thing he had to go off of.

“Keith! Where are you going?” Romelle called after him. 

“To see a snake!” He snapped back, slamming the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Okay so, I'm planning to make this story a little more intense as the chapters go. So while it's still teen-friendly at this point, it will start to get more explicit as the chapters go. 
> 
> I just wanted to give you that warning! At that point, I'll change the rating in the story stats too. 
> 
>  
> 
> In the next chapter we get to see dear old boyfriend Lotor~
> 
> (I'm hoping if I'm quick and to the point with these chapters I can update a lot faster. Of course though, that makes the chapters a little shorter :(


	5. Talk with a Snake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith confronts Lotor about his meetings with Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOP! New update! After forever!  
> .....it's gonna take forever to finish this story....

With more force than needed, Keith tossed his helmet against his motorcycle. He glared at the building before him, knowing all too well who it belonged to. He hadn’t know Lotor well. Their interactions were through Lance and once Lance broke ties with him Keith had nothing to do with the snake.

He did know, however, that Lotor’s father did not have the best track record. You could have called him a mafia boss if you wanted to but that term couldn’t seem to describe everything Zarkon did. Lotor didn’t exactly follow the choices of his father but had inherited a large sum of money from his passing a few years back.

Since then he had started up his own business. Keith couldn’t tell you what kind of business it was because he didn’t care. He was here for one reason only.

The moment he entered the building he barged his way up to the front desk, scaring the living daylights out of the receptionist when he took her phone and slammed it shut, ending the call she was on.

“S-Sir?” she stammered, the blood draining from her face.

“Lotor.” he hissed. “Tell Lotor that Keith Kogane is here to see him. _Now.”_

The poor girl nodded, her fingers trembling as she dialed up to Lotor’s office. He answered almost immediately listening to her stammer the message. She nodded, then motioned down the hall. “M-Meeting room two. He will meet you there.”

He nods and barrelled into the room. Not willing to sit down he paced. He wanted answers. He wanted them more than he wanted anything. He didn’t have time to be confused or question why Lance hadn’t told him about Lotor earlier. No matter how much he thought about it, nothing made sense.

Maybe Lance just didn’t want to worry him? Or maybe Lance had tried to tell him but Keith hadn’t been paying enough attention.

He had no idea. Lotor was the only one who could confirm any of these answers and Keith trusted him as far as he could throw him.

He hated the guy, if Keith had to be honest. For many reasons. He rubbed Keith the wrong way, yes, but more than anything it had been how he treated Lance back in their younger days.

He had met Lance their first year of college. At that time, his boyfriend at been Lotor. Keith wanted to say he was no boyfriend stealer, and he had tried to keep his feelings for Lance strictly as friends.

It had worked for a long time, a good year or two. And despite his one-sided feelings, Keith never tried to push his feelings onto Lance or step between Lotor and him. That didn’t mean he didn’t notice how Lotor neglected Lance. How he would spend his days making Lance feeling small and lesser than himself.

Lotor constantly put him down, belittling and being downright mean. Lance was too nice of a guy to say anything back and at one point just accepted whatever Lotor threw at him. It wasn’t right and his crush or not, Keith didn’t stand for it.

He made sure Lance understood he wasn’t alone and that it was okay to leave Lotor. Through a lot of convincing and the help of their friends, Lance finally managed to see how horrible Lotor was. And then, the next day before Lance could even put his foot down, Lotor left. He dumped Lance for some sort of ending victory and never looked back.

It was downright wrong.

But Lance was able to move on, and the following year Keith finally confessed his feelings.

Everything was doing fine and he thought he’d get some sort of happily ever after with Lance… till he went missing.

Yet he knew, things had been going wrong long before that night. And it was his fault.

He wasn’t mean to Lance, but he hadn’t been a good boyfriend either. 

He shouldn’t put himself on the same level as Lotor with what he did but he felt he deserved to be there after what happened.

“Keith~” A voice sang out. He frowned and turned, the snake he came to see standing before him.

“Lotor,” he grumbled as the long-haired man stepped in, his group of four women following close behind him. They were basically his bodyguards, assigned to escort and protect him at all times. His Father made it a necessity to have guards, and Lotor had picked the best of the bunch. No one had been able to even get a scratch on him since. 

“Oh, Keith, still as aggressive as ever. Did you really have to give my poor secretary a heart attack?" he chided with a chuckle. As he walked in he pulled out a chair for himself, moving across the room to where a few classes and drinks were placed. "Oh well. How wonderful it is to see you. How have you been? Still climbing the ladders to get your own business?” Lotor asked with a charming but fake smile.

“Stop with the formalities.” Keith snipped. “I’m sure you know why I am here.”

“Yes and No.” Lotor pours himself a cup of tea, motioning for Keith to join him at a table. Reluctant at first he eventually sat down. Lotor’s gangle of goons kept close by, each eyeing him warningly not to try anything funny with their boss. “I heard Lance went missing, sorry to hear. It was all over the news. Yet I’m not sure what exactly you have to gain by coming here.”

“His work,” Keith says simply, venom dripping from his tone. “You’ve been in contact with Lance and got to see him at least a few times a month. I confirmed it with some of his other workers.”

“So much for customer privacy.” he mused.

“No games, Lotor. Why were you seeing Lance so often?” Keith smacked his hand on the table, pissed. Blame it on the possessive tendencies he sometimes got with Lance, but knowing he had been seeing his Ex so often… it made his blood boil.

“Dear me." he clicked his tongue, clearly not surprised, "I thought you knew? Did darling Lance not tell you?” he was enjoying this, the smug smile on his face enough to make Keith want to reach over and punch him. “Guess you two weren’t as close as you thought. Maybe you two should go to couples counseling.”

Keith jabbed an accusing finger at him, “Like I want to hear that from you. Don’t forget how you treated Lance.”

The older man tilted his head, a sick smile on his face, “You say that like we’re so different from each other.”

The patience Keith was clawing at wasn’t lasting, replacing each passing second with rage. “Excuse me?”

“It’s always sad how we don’t realize how much we need something till it is gone,” Lotor says with faked sympathy. “Probably hurts even worse knowing you hardly got to see him before he disappeared.”

“How do you-?” Keith’s eyes widened.

“Ignoring him for months. Ditching him on every date you promised to go to. Neglecting and leaving him free to be snatched away. How _inconsiderate_ of you.”

"Shut up!" he rose, sensing his guards looking ready to make a move but not caring. 

"If you were just going to throw him away you should have sent him my way." Lotor purred, "I would have taken good care of him." 

Keith felt something snap. The next thing he knew he was surging forward to grab a hold of Lotor’s collarbone. He slammed him roughly against the wall, the table flipped to the side. How dare someone like Lotor talk like he knew him. When he knew nothing!

“Shut your mouth before I cut out your tongue!” In his anger he had grabbed the knife from his belt, holding it towards Lotor threateningly. He never showed such violence when Lance was around. Back when he was younger he was prone to such acts. He didn't want to be that kind of man anymore. He wanted to be good, especially in Lance's eyes. 

But Lance was gone. 

Lance was out there somewhere and he was sick and tired of having no answers! 

When Lotor’s companions rose Lotor quickly lifted his hand to stop them. They tensed, the four women keeping a distance with his command.

“Come now, Keith. Resorting to violence?”

“Hard not to when you seem pretty guilty.” Keith growled darkly.

“I was not responsible for his disappearance if that is what you are insinuating.” Lotor scowled.

“Funny how hard I find that to believe. Why in the world were you seen with him so much then?” Keith demanded.

“I chose him as my regular stylist because I trusted him with my hair, that is all.”

“How did you know we hadn’t seen each other then?” Keith challenged. 

“You can get Lance to say a lot if you get him talking about you, Keith.” Lotor rolled his eyes. “The fact that he couldn’t see you was something that really upset him. If you bothered to pay attention to that.”

“You wanna say that again??”

Lotor snorted, “Lucky for you, I have other matters to attend to. I don’t have time to play your childish games, and for both of your sakes, I would focus on Lance. He isn’t the type to get involved in anything illegal, so whoever did this had other reasons than to threaten him. If I had to take a guess the reason for his kidnapping is for something else. Perhaps something involving yourself. If I were you I would double check to make sure you haven’t pissed off anyone lately.” He paused, “Or, maybe it isn’t even about you. Lance had a lot of admirers, Keith. We both know that. Admirers aren’t always sweet…”

“What are you trying to say?” Keith frowned, “Someone took Lance because they… liked him?”

“I’m not suggesting anything, just offering some possibilities. It’s good to have an open mind on every option in situations like this." Lotor removed Keith's hand from his shirt, straightening it out. Keith stepped backed when he cleared his throat, "Either way, this person knew you wouldn’t be home. They knew you would miss the date and leave Lance home alone. I would retrace your steps on who exactly was aware of your meeting that night.”

Despite how much he hated the guy, Keith realized he was on to something. He had been more helpful than most that day and Keith appreciated that to an extent. “Right…” With his anger gone, he was starting to feel tired.

He collected his coat without much else to say. As he walked out the door, getting glares from the four women who always tagged along with Lotor, her heard the dark prince call his name.

“I do hope you find him, Keith.” Lotor seemed to be honest when he said this. “Our history aside, I do not wish any actual harm to Lance.”

Keith glared over his shoulder but eventually nodded.

Stepping out of the door he was surprised to find a familiar car parked near his motorcycle. Shiro had managed to track him down and he didn’t look happy.

“Not even going to text me and let me know you were okay?’ his brother demands.

Keith set his gaze, shrugging on his jacket. “I couldn’t guarantee you would let me go.”

Shiro sighed, “You might be right about that.” he leaned against his car, folding his arms. “Well, I’m here. We might as well see what we can dig up.”

Keith was shocked, “Really?”

“Yeah. I want to find him too, Keith.” Shiro gave him a gentle look. “So how about you start by explaining why you came to see Lotor of all people?”

Keith felt heavy and he felt it in his voice “I guess Lance has been cutting Lotor’s hair for him these last few months. He never told me.”

“Oof.” Shiro cringes. Ex’s were rough as it was but it being Lotor. Definitely not something pleasant there. “You sure he never told you? Maybe he had and you just weren’t paying attention?”

“I don’t know.” Keith pinched the bridge of his nose, “Either way, it was the only weird thing I learned that was going on with Lance’s life. So I came to ask him some questions.”

“And what is your gut telling you?”

“He didn’t do anything to Lance,” Keith concludes. “But he gave me a few tips. Shiro, did you tell anyone I was planning to have dinner with Lance that night?”

His brother blinked, puzzled. “Not that I recall. You told me but it wasn’t exactly news to spread around.”

“Right. But someone must have told someone.” he begins to say. “Whoever took Lance knew I wouldn’t be home. Or at least knew any date I had planned with Lance previously I had canceled.”

“So you think it’s someone we know?” Shiro was stunned.

Keith held up a hand, “Now hold on. I didn’t say that.” not that the option was far off, but he never wanted to think any friends they had would ever harm Lance. “I’m saying it’s someone who knew our plans. Friends, acquaintances. Maybe a friend told someone they knew- or Lance even told a client of his the day he was working. Lotor told me- he said Lance tended to babble if I was brought up.”

“He does usually do that. He never stops talking about you.” Shiro smiles.

Keith didn't let that happy feeling in his chest distract him. “The point is, we need to figure out who knew about that night. I remember that Hunk and you knew about that day. You said you didn’t tell anyone, but what about Hunk?”

“I doubt he would just go telling people about the plans of his friends,” Shiro says. “In the end, we have to figure out who Lance told, and that is kind of hard to do when we don’t know where he is and can’t ask him.”

Keith cursed. All this work and he still didn’t feel any closer to Lance. If nothing else he learned Lance didn’t tell him everything.

“I think we should go talk to Shay.” he finally decided.

“Why Shay?”

“She is his closest friend. If he was doing anything new or talking to anyone suspicious she is the best bet to figuring that out.” Keith decided.

“Well, then we head to Hunk’s place.” Shiro pulled out his keys. “And let's get you something to eat when we get there.”

“I”m not hungry.”

“I know. But you should eat anyway.” his brother patted his back, his eyes gentle. Keith couldn’t say no to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to figure out what Shay knows.


End file.
